Game Day: Stealth at Roughnecks

1. OH, BROTHER: While the Roughnecks constantly march out two sets of brothers in the Carnegies and Harnetts, it’s the Sniders who will wage a fierce battle in this game. Geoff, of the Roughnecks, and Bob, of the Stealth, are sitting one-two in faceoffs won and loose balls won. Bob actually has won three more faceoffs with 215, but his winning percentage of 69.6 is considerably less than Geoff’s 75.7. Geoff, on the other hand, has a league-leading 162 loose balls, 32 more than Bob. In the two previous games this season, Geoff won 65 and 60 per cent of the faceoffs against Bob.

2. OFFENCE ON FIRE: Some key injuries were holding back the Stealth offence earlier in the season, but as the team has become healthier, it’s found its groove. Just about everyone got in the act last Sunday during a 20-13 romp over the Swarm. “The light finally came on somewhere along the line,” said head coach Chris Hall. “We’ve been waiting for that for some time, but probably sparked by a great transition game. We got seven goals from our back end. They were flying and that’s the best all-around game we’ve played all year. And I think our PP now is really starting to come into its own again, what we expected it to be from the beginning.”

3. KEY TO VICTORY: Even though the Roughnecks have won the first two games against the Stealth this season, coach Dave Pym knows the defending West champions aren’t going to be easy pickings a third time. “We need to try to keep the game five-on-five, do a better job of our gap control on the Stealth,” he said. “Them and the Mammoth for some reason seem to torch us on some of our gap control. And we have to keep that team off the PP because they are too good and too dangerous. They’ll fill the net on us.”

4. WHO’S TURN NOW? If there’s one thing the Roughnecks have been able to count on offensively, it’s been a balanced attack. Different players seem to be taking turns in starring roles. Last week, it was Shawn Evans coming up with a near franchise-record outing in a nine-point night — just two points and two assists shy of equalling franchise marks. Scott Ranger, Curtis Dickson, Dane Dobbie, Jeff Shattler and Darryl Veltman also have had leading games. It’s just a real difficult offence to shut down.

5. STATS DIGEST: Two of the top goaltenders will be squaring off in the Roughnecks’ Mike Poulin and the Stealth’s Tyler Richards. Poulin has made 358 saves while posting a league-leading goals-against average of 9.84, while Richards sits No. 3 in saves with 370 and No. 3 in goals-against at 11.78 . . . Former Roughneck Lewis Ratcliff is one of the leading shooters with 145 shots and goal and leads the Stealth with 25 goals, two more than Roughnecks leading sniper Curtis Dickson . . . Vigorous Calgary defenders Peter McFetridge and Andrew McBride are tied for third in penalty minutes with 47 apiece.

Compiled by john down, Calgary Herald

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